DENVER (Ticker) -- If the Denver Nuggets want to be taken seriously, they can't have late letdowns at home against teams like the Los Angeles Clippers.
Quentin Richardson scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers rallied for their first win of the season, a 104-102 triumph over the Nuggets.
Denver led by four points with 30 seconds left in regulation and by four with 2 1/2 minutes to go in overtime. In each instance, the Nuggets gave away the lead as Richardson keyed the comebacks.
Corey Maggette collected 29 points and 10 rebounds and Marko Jaric had 13 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who opened the season in Japan with consecutive losses to the Seattle SuperSonics.
"I was in the rhythm tonight," Maggette said. "I told (Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe) that I was going to make him pay for not getting me."
The late collapse spoiled rookie Carmelo Anthony's best offensive game as a pro. The third overall pick in the 2003 draft scored 30 points on 10-of-24 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
"I don't know what happened," Anthony said. "No excuses, we knew the Clippers wanted the game real bad. It was tough - losing by two points is worse than losing by 100, especially at home. This loss is a real disappointment."
Los Angeles has won four of the last five meetings with Denver.
"It feels good to get a win for us," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Our guys play hard. Defensively, we did some good things in the half-court. They got us in transition and in second-chance points."
"Give the Clippers credit, they came in and took one from us," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "It seemed like we were just grinding our teeth out there. ... For us to be a good basketball team, we have to do everything better."
Los Angeles led by seven points early in the fourth quarter and was clinging to a 86-83 edge following a layup by Anthony with 1:23 to go. Earl Boykins was fouled with 67 seconds left and made the first free throw, but Nene was called for a lane violation on the second.
The miscue proved costly as Predrag Drobnjak hit a six-footer with 21 seconds remaining and, after Boykins hit another free throw four seconds later, Richardson came through with a clutch 3-pointer.
Jaric drove the right side and kicked the ball out to Richardson, who buried the tying 3-pointer with five seconds to go. Boykins missed an 18-footer in the waning seconds and the game went to overtime.
"I just made it to the corner and got open," Richardson said. "They had to stop the penetration, so I bumped back and got the shot. It feels good to win, but we got to build on it."
"Violations, turnovers, wide-open 3-point shots that put the game into overtime," said Denver guard Andre Miller, who spent last season with Los Angeles.
In overtime, a jumper by Anthony gave Denver a 96-92 edge with 2:48 remaining. Richardson responded with a basket 21 seconds later and tied it again with a jumper with 84 seconds to go.
Maggette made a layup 27 seconds later and Jaric made it 100-96 with a hoop off a feed from Richardson. Anthony hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go, but a free throw by Marvin Ely and three points from Maggette sealed the win.
"'Q' made some big shots," Maggette said. "That is what a good player is supposed to do. We just kept feeding him. 'Q' is that guy we need to do that every night. It was a great team effort tonight."
"We didn't come out like we wanted to win the game," Miller added. "It was a fun game, but we were pretty lax and there were a few too many turnovers. That is why we lost the game."
Jon Barry's 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter gave Denver a 33-25 lead, but the Nuggets closed the first half with an 11-2 run and led 52-49 at halftime.
"We turned the ball over seven times in the last six minutes of the second quarter," Bzdelik said. "That took us from building on a lead to being behind."
